A federal jury in California delivered a major verdict against Elon Musk on Friday, March 20, 2026, finding that the tech billionaire misled Twitter shareholders in 2022 in an effort to artificially drive down the company’s share price during his ultimately successful $44 billion acquisition of the platform (now known as X).
Subscribe To The Best Team In Conservative, Business, Technology, Lifestyle And Digital News Realtime! support@ddnewsonline.com
The jury ruled in favour of plaintiff Giuseppe Pampena, who filed the class-action securities lawsuit on behalf of investors who sold Twitter shares between mid-May and early October 2022. Jurors determined that Musk violated securities laws by making false and misleading statements that depressed the stock price potentially allowing him to renegotiate or exit the deal at a lower cost.
According to the verdict form, Musk’s actions breached rules prohibiting artificial manipulation of stock prices. The jury calculated potential damages at up to $2.6 billion, though the final amount if awarded will be determined in a separate phase or through post-trial proceedings.
The lawsuit centered on Musk’s public statements and tweets during the drawn-out acquisition process, particularly his May 2022 claim that the deal was “temporarily on hold” pending proof that fake accounts (“bots”) made up less than 5% of Twitter’s user base a figure the company had repeatedly affirmed.
Plaintiffs argued these statements were designed to create uncertainty, scare investors into selling, and give Musk leverage to lower the $54.20-per-share price or walk away entirely. Musk eventually completed the purchase in October 2022 after Twitter sued to enforce the agreement.
Since taking control, Musk has rebranded the platform as X, merged it with his AI startup xAI and space company SpaceX assets, and implemented sweeping changes including mass layoffs, policy reversals, and a shift toward paid verification and free speech absolutism.
Representatives for Musk have indicated plans to appeal the verdict, arguing that his statements were opinion-based, protected speech, and did not constitute securities fraud. Musk himself has not yet commented publicly on the ruling.
Subscribe To The Best Team In Conservative, Business, Technology, Lifestyle And Digital News Realtime! support@ddnewsonline.com
The case is one of several legal battles Musk has faced since the Twitter acquisition, including shareholder suits, regulatory scrutiny from the SEC, and ongoing disputes with former executives.
DDNewsOnline – Lagos
By Ogungbayi Adeyemi S. (Beedee)
Send tips to: adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com
09164987165 / 08168555497
©️ 2026 DDNewsOnline